PCH Blackened Fish Rice Bowl

Served up by LANI, the Stewardess with all the world’s recipes.

Prep: 15 min · Cook: 10 min · Serves: 2

Why surfers love it: A heat-and-eat bowl with protein, carbs and good fats, ready in about 25 minutes, which is how long it takes your hair to dry.

Ingredients

• 2 fish fillets, about 6 oz each (swordfish, mahi-mahi or salmon), 1 inch thick
• Blackening rub: 1 tsp smoked paprika, ½ tsp each garlic powder, onion powder, dried thyme, ¼-½ tsp cayenne, ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp oil + 1 tbsp butter
• 2 cups cooked rice (white, brown or sushi rice)
• 1 avocado, sliced
• ½ cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• Drizzle: 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp toasted sesame oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp rice vinegar
• Toasted sesame seeds, sliced green onion, lime

Method

1. Whisk the drizzle ingredients together.
2. Pat the fish dry and press the rub onto both sides.
3. Turn on the fan or open a window. Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium-high until very hot, then add the oil and butter.
4. Lay in the fish and cook 3-4 minutes without moving it, until a dark crust forms. Flip and cook 2-4 minutes more, until it flakes and reaches 145°F inside.
5. Rest 2 minutes, then slice or break into chunks.
6. Build the bowls: rice, fish, avocado, cucumber, carrot. Spoon over the drizzle and finish with sesame, green onion and a squeeze of lime.

Tip: Blackened isn't burnt: the crust should be dark and fragrant, not bitter. If the pan smokes hard, turn it down a notch.

Where to eat it

Mahé, Seal Beach, California. A fresh-fish, sushi and grill restaurant on PCH that took over the historic Glider Inn in 2000. Co-founder Toby Reece told Locale Magazine that he and Tony Andrews "were surfing a lot and working in restaurants" when they started it. This recipe is an original home-cook version inspired by the spot. It is not their recipe, and we have no affiliation with them. Go eat the real thing.